Many manufacturers today require their suppliers to deliver parts that have been sequenced according to production schedule requirements. To facilitate the manufacturing process, the parts are packaged in the order they are consumed on the production line. The sequencing of parts is coordinated with the items to be manufactured on the production line so that associates simply select the parts from the package or container in order and install them on the manufactured items.
Parts sequencing facilitates the manufacturing process in several ways. First, associates are not required to take the time that might be needed to search for the appropriate part within a package or container. Furthermore, it reduces the likelihood that an incorrect part will be installed on the manufactured item. Because the parts are sequenced for selection from the package or container in order, the associate always takes the part that is next in line according to the parts ordering. Finally, it reduces the handling of parts and therefore, reduces the likelihood that parts will be damaged due to handling. Parts sequencing, therefore, helps to maintain or even increase product quality.
In the automobile industry, many automakers are implementing “in-line vehicle sequencing (ILVS)” programs with their suppliers to reduce costs and increase efficiency. Sequencing requirements are typically transmitted from manufacturers to suppliers in the form of an 866 EDI (Ship to Sequence Requirements) transaction. The transaction outlines the sequence of the items needed to build the product and is used by the supplier to package the parts. Although there are benefits to sequencing parts for production, there are associated costs that manufacturers need to consider. First, requiring suppliers to sequence parts prior to delivery increases the costs of the parts to the manufacturer. The supplier incurs costs associated with sequencing the parts within a package and typically passes those costs on to the manufacturer. In addition, the amount of data that is present in an 866 EDI transaction is often significant.
Data transmission costs are further increased when the manufactured product requires a significant number of parts. In the case of ILVS programs, sequencing may be requested for many components, including doors, seats, wheels, exhaust systems, axles, and even engines that are integrated to form a complete vehicle. The data transmission costs for 866 EDI transactions can be very high because of the volume of data present in each transaction and because of the number of transactions that are required to obtain the sequenced parts. Furthermore, some manufacturers may request sequenced parts even when it is not really necessary.
Another reason that parts sequencing is costly to manufacturers, especially to automakers that use ILVS, is that the sequenced parts requests are based on gross parts requirements as determined by the production schedule. The sequence requirements are correlated with the production schedule and reflect the need for parts as indicated in the production schedule. The requests (which are usually in the form of 866 EDI transactions) do not account for on-hand inventory. As a result, the manufacturer requests delivery of more parts than are actually needed to build the manufactured products according to the production schedule. Furthermore, the on-hand inventory remains for as long as the parts delivery requests are gross-based because there is no procedure for incorporating them into the production process.
Parts sequencing is also costly to manufacturers because current systems and methods do not consider various factors related to lot sizes and parts when sending sequenced parts delivery requests. Current delivery request practices are based on one part per package as set forth in an 866 EDI transaction. Parts are not mixed within packages so some of the packages that are prepared and delivered are not full. As a result, the volume of data in 866 EDI transactions is significant thereby causing significant data transmission costs.
Current systems and methods for requesting delivery of sequenced parts to a production line are costly to manufacturers for various reasons. There is a need for an improved system and method for requesting delivery of sequenced parts that accounts for parts in inventory so that only the parts that are needed to meet the production schedule are delivered. There also is a need for an improved system and method for requesting delivery of sequenced parts that addresses related problems to lot sizes and mixing parts within packages. Finally, there is a need for an improved system and method for requesting delivery of sequenced parts that reduces transmission costs for associated EDI transactions by reducing the amount of data included in each transaction.